3 keys as Milwaukee Bucks look to continue win streak vs Indiana Pacers

How will the Milwaukee Bucks attack the Indiana Pacers defense?

For those of you that haven’t kept up with the Pacers lately, they have the fourth-best defense by defensive rating over their last 10 games at 103.9. They haven’t seen the results yet, only going 5-5 in those games, but they’re beginning to figure things out at that end of the floor under new head coach Rick Carlisle.

In their most recent game against the Toronto Raptors, a team that sits top ten in offensive rating, they held them to 97 points on 41 percent shooting. So the Bucks will have their work cut out for them.

Luckily they have some experience against the Pacers this season and could use some of the same blueprints. Despite the Pacers’ sizable frontcourt and Myles Turner being one of the league’s very best rim protectors, the Bucks showed no fear attacking the basket. Around 40 percent of their field goal attempts came at the basket and they shot nearly 72 percent on those attempts.

That should continue now that Holiday is back for this one as well as Bobby Portis, who should also give the Bucks a boost from outside. They shot 34.4 percent on 32 attempts from behind the 3-point arc.

Another thing that attacking the rim does is generate free throw attempts, of which the Bucks had 31 in their first meeting (their second-most free throw attempts in a single game this season). Against Turner, in particular, Giannis Antetokounmpo went 5-of-9 for 12 points and drew two shooting fouls on the Pacers big man.

For as good as the Pacers defense has been in their last 10 games, they have allowed over 46 points in the paint in that span which is in the middle of the pack, suggesting they’re getting some good shooting luck. If the Bucks can keep the same aggressiveness, they should have similar success.